Set in Halifax, Mischief follows protagonist, Brooke (Lisa Nasson), a congenial young Mi’kmaq woman, who works at her Uncle Chris’s (Jeremy Proulx) convenience store on the Rez. While Brooke may try to show that everything is fine, an underlying sadness soon emerges.
One rather boorish customer, Fisherman Fred (Devin MacKinnon), comes into the store daily for cigarettes. The way he speaks to Brooke suggests harassment and bullying. The lights have been flickering on and off in the store for a few days, possibly because of a storm that passed through.
At one point, the lights go out. As Brooke goes to the back to try to flip the breaker, she encounters Emily (Nicole Joy-Fraser) in the utility closet. It appears Emily just might be an Elder in the Indigenous community. While Emily appears to know things about Brooke and her mother, there is something transcendent about the Elder. She appears not to be of this world. Each time Emily speaks, there is a reverberating echo (thanks, Maddie Bautista; that sound effect remains effective).
Tammy (Trina Moyan), a family friend of Brooke, her mother, and Chris, has gone to the local park, where many Indigenous people have gathered to protest the statue of Edward Cornwallis, the founder of Halifax. Cornwallis issued a proclamation encouraging the scalping of the Mi’kmaq, any man, woman, or child who would have protested the settlement of Halifax. Brooke is uncertain whether to attend the protests, wondering whether renewed attention to the Cornwallis statue and its history would only make the memory more relevant.
Given that Mischief is Nasson’s first play, it remains an important story within the canon of Indigenous theatre and culture, particularly in understanding Truth and Reconciliation.
Why?
First, the title’s double meaning draws attention. It’s clever. The first connotation concerns the legal understanding of mischief when protests turn violent and public property is damaged. The other connotation is that sometimes it takes a bit of mischief to change how things are viewed and, hopefully, understood, from another lens.
Both understandings are at work in Nasson’s important two-act script. Directed by Mike Payette, with assistance from Joelle Peters, their intuitive and humane understanding of Mischief’s characters weaves throughout the story. Their subtle humour and wit make the audience smile and snicker at the quick one-liners, especially those between Tammy and Chris in Act One. It is in Act Two that the story takes a complete dramatic turn. By the end of the play, the inherent dignity, strength, and resilience of these five characters radiate powerfully in the visual tableau, creating a very strong picture in my mind the next day.
Visually, Andy Moro’s set design is stunning, particularly in how the suggestion of Chris’s Convenience store is placed within the skeleton of a whale’s ribcage. Moro’s additional work in Projection Design richly captures the visual connection to Indigenous understanding of the Earth, Water and Creation as extraordinary. Moro also worked on costumes – the Burgundy regalia worn by Emily looks lovely from where I was seated in the house.
The cast commits to the gentle comedy and heartfelt dramatic moments with focus and purpose. Through laughter and poignancy, the five-person cast genuinely reflects, in context, what director Payette says in his Director’s Note: “[these people are a family] reflecting its unique qualities and a community that deeply resonates and feels like our own.”
Devin MacKinnon’s dual role as Fisherman Fred in Act One and Good Guy in Act Two creates a strong contrast in performance that works. Devin’s Fred is satirically yet believably crude, gross, and coarse; MacKinnon’s Good Guy and Nasson share a pumping heartbeat, the lifeblood of their connection. They listen with patience, control, care, and respect (until the truth ultimately comes to the surface).
Trina Moyan’s Tammy is comically sassy, attention-seeking, headstrong and direct. Her playful cajoling with Brooke and Chris upon her first entrance is lovely. While Tammy claims she’s in a ‘really emotional place’ to garner attention, it is Brooke who ends up in that emotional place in Act Two, realizing what she has done. As Emily, Nicole Joy-Fraser is commanding in her physicality. When she first appears as Emily, Fraser walks behind the scrim and, when Brooke questions her, chooses not to speak right away. That pause is meaningful. It made me sit forward in my chair because I wanted to know who this otherworldly person is.
As Brooke’s maternal uncle, Jeremy Proulx’s Chris is a firm, caring protector of the ‘family’ who comes through his convenience store daily. While he carries that same sadness as Brooke does at the top of the show, Proulx’s dejection when Brooke’s Nasson snaps at him hits right at the heart. Proulx clearly shows his hurt in his eyes and posture. It’s a dramatic moment worth watching.
Lisa Nasson delivers an engaging performance as Brooke. She’s clearly focused and always in the moment. Her Brooke is likable. She’s the real deal. She’s smart and streetwise in her dealings with Fisherman Fred and Good Guy. Nasson’s Brooke knows when she screws up, especially in the way she snaps at her uncle, and she is genuinely remorseful for her words.
In his Director’s Note, Payette speaks about how Mischief invites the audience on a quest to celebrate power against adversity and injustice.
I couldn’t help but think of ‘Truth, then Reconciliation’ at the conclusion of the play.
I had no knowledge of Edward Cornwallis and the terrible reminder of what he stood for. For me, that’s the Truth of the journey I continue as I learn more about Indigenous theatre and its rightful place within the country’s theatre canon.
Mischief is thought-provoking, engaging, direct and insightful.
Running time: approximately one hour and 45 minutes with one intermission.
The production runs to February 8 on the Mainstage at Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Avenue, Toronto. For tickets: tarragontheatre.com.
A TARRAGON, NATIVE EARTH PERFORMING ARTS AND NEPTUNE THEATRE CO-PRODUCTION present
‘Mischief’ by Lisa Nasson
Directed by Mike Payette with Joelle Peters.
Set, Costume and Props Designer: Andy Moro
Lighting Designer: Leigh Ann Vardy
Sound Designer: Maddie Bautista
Stage Manager: Farnoosh Talebpour
Smudge Man: Mitchell Saddleback
Performers: Nicole Joy-Fraser, Devin MacKinnon, Trina Moyan, Lisa Nasson, Jeremy Proulx
